The Rock, Op. 7 (Russian: Утёс) is a fantasia for orchestra written by Sergei Rachmaninoff in the summer of 1893. It was dedicated to Rimsky-Korsakov. As an epigraph for the composition, Rachmaninoff chose a couplet from a poem by Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov:
The golden cloud slept through the night
Upon the breast of the giant-rock
He later mentioned, however, that much of his inspiration for The Rock came from a story by Anton Chekhov in which a young girl meets an older man during an overnight stop at an inn. As the narrative unfolds, they share stories and find love before parting ways the next morning. Rachmaninoff very much respected fellow Russian composer Tchaikovsky, and in a meeting between the two at the home of Rachmaninoff's former teacher Sergei Taneyev, Tchaikovsky promised to include The Rock in the program of a forthcoming concert tour. The promise was never realized, however, as Tchaikovsky died suddenly later that year.
References
- Brown, David. CD pamphlet: "Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2, The Rock -- Russian National Orchestra / Mikhail Pletnev". Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg. 1994.
- Garcia, Emanuel E., Rachmaninoff's Emotional Collapse and Recovery: The First Symphony and its Aftermath. "Psychoanalytic Review". April 2004.
- Mann, William. CD pamphlet: "Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3, The Rock -- Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / Paavo Berglund". RCA Victor. Recorded June 20-22, 1988, in Philharmonic Hall, Stockholm.
